What is a quirk?
Something your character says or does that is unusual but makes him/her unique. What is a quip?
A clever, witty remark often prompted by the occasion. Or, a clever, often sarcastic remark; a gibe.Yeah, so what? What should I do with that?
Make a list.Seriously.
Buy a notebook. (You know you're looking for a reason to buy another one anyway.) Write down quirky things you see people do. Write down funny quips you hear people say or that you come up with yourself. When writing try to use them to make your characters unique and interesting.
Here's are some quirks you can add to your notebook:
(1) A man or woman must look in every mirror and wink at themselves.
(2) An older woman always puts ten items in her shopping basket but buys only two. Leaving the other eight sitting on boxes of gum or in her basket at the till.
(3) A man enjoys petting his leather shoes and mooing.
(4) A woman carries 100 keys but uses only one.
(5) A person must use two parking spaces to park his Mini.
Here are some quips take from this web site:
*If you think nobody cares . . . try missing a couple of payments
*An unbreakable toy is useful . . . for breaking other toys
*Lead me not into temptation . . . I can find my own way there.
*People took LSD to make the world weird . . . now they take Prozac to make it normal.
*A knight in shining armour can . . . turn out to be a retard in tin foil.
The 100 keys reminds me of my husband. ;)
ReplyDeleteLove the knight in tin foil!
Clarissa - What a good idea for making a character more interesting! Quirks can be endearing and they certainly set characters apart. Why have bland characters?
ReplyDeleteI was cracking up reading the quirks, I have done 1, 2, and 5.
ReplyDeleteWhat a thoroughly quirky post full of handy quips! :-) Take care
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I have this notebook. Sometimes I read it for laughs. Seriously, it is a very handy item.
ReplyDelete#1 is scary. ;)
ReplyDeleteThese are great! I have got to try writing some of them in a notebook to make me think whenever I'm doing character development. An excellent idea for sure.
ReplyDeleteI like both those words--they're not used too often.
ReplyDeleteGood advice about quirks & quips & I've done that a lot. I've made notes in notebooks but also on scraps of whatever paper I could find depending upon my location.
I like this. I'm a fan of quips and quirks. I used to keep lists like this in a notebooks, but haven't of late. Not a bad idea of something to do.
ReplyDeleteLee
Tossing It Out
Ha, those are pretty good. I started keeping a list of quirks just a couple of months ago.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about making an actual list of quirks, though I do have a list of funny quips I've heard. Great idea!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the laugh. :)
quirks can be interesting and memorable.
ReplyDeleteI met a few tin foil guys before I met my hubby ;)
ReplyDeletewriting down the quirks is a great idea. I'm hopeless at remembering.
I think I work people who have all those quirks.
ReplyDeletelove the quips--the retard in tinfoil in particular... :D good stuff~ <3
ReplyDeleteKnight in tin foil! I might have to steal that one... Thanks, Clarissa!
ReplyDeleteLOL, this is great!!! I gotta say, I have several keys, but only use a couple. ;)
ReplyDeleteI have a few quirks for my quirky characters. One guy likes to park his Beemer away from everyone else because he's afraid someone will scratch or dent it. Of course, guess what eventually happens. Yep. His Beemer gets it food.
ReplyDeleteI need a good, quirky character who says quips, or something like that! :) Working on a character this afternoon, actually.
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